Ichinomiya Castle is a mountaintop castle in

Tokushima is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

Built in 1338, the castle was built on a strategically important site, with a river in front and on a mountain, both features giving it some protection as natural defenses. It was originally built by the Osagawara clan, which was appointed to govern Awa domain. In the conflict between

Emperor Godaigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

and

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

, the founder of the

Muromachi shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

, the Osagawara supported the Emperor. With his defeat, the Ogasawara lost the castle, which was then given to the Ichinomiya clan From the 14th to the 16th centuries, generations of the Ichinomiya family ruled the castle. Hachisuka Iemasa was made lord of the castle after that. The castle was dismantled in 1615. It was a hilltop castle, and it was built on the same site that Ichinomiya Castle originally was sited. In a conflict between Motochika Chosokabe and the Miyoshi, even though the Ichinomiya supported him, Motochika mistrusted the clan and removed the castle from their control, directly controlling it himself. The castle was finally demolished under the policy of ''Ikkoku Ichijyo Rei'', or "one domein one castle rule" of 1615.

Shikoku campaign

In 1585,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

started a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

against Chosokabe Motochika and his clan. Hideyoshi marched with 100,000 soldiers against Motochika, who had 40,000. Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother, led 40,000 soldiers to lay siege to the castle. After initially attacking it, they then moved to destroy the water source for the castle. Considering they were outnumbered, and had no water supply, the castle surrendered to Toyotomi. With the surrender of the castle, Chosokabe Motochika himself surrendered. The battle around the castle was the central part of the campaign.

Current site

Presently, most of the remains of the castle that still stand currently are some bailey walls, and stairs. The site is signposted and accessible for tourists. The Castle was listed as one of the

Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 Japanese castle, castles, intended as a sequel of 100 Fine Castles of Japan. The castles were chosen for their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2017. Hokkaidō region Tōhoku region Kant ...

in 2017.

Literature

References

{{Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles Ruined castles in Japan Castles in Tokushima Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Former castles in Japan Miyoshi clan Chōsokabe clan